Chapter 3 continues…

The most far- reaching and ultimately disastrous attempt to expand the penetration of the Kabul government occurred during the early years of communist rule that began in 1978 and eventually led to civil war and chaos.

Following the collapse of the communist regime in 1992, government security apparatus quickly dissolved. Individual Mujahideen factions—formerly funded by foreign interests wishing to overthrow the regime—maintained their own militias and skirmished over control of the capital city and the countryside. Central government control extended little farther than Kabul itself, and law and order broke down almost entirely. The Taleban’s emergence can be traced largely to the absence of security and to the exhaustion of the population from years of civil war.

Under Taleban rule—which after 1998 covered all but a small area of the northeast—the roads were secure and personal safety improved for most Afghans. However, armed Taleban religious police also kept close watch for any signs of irreligious tendencies and executed harsh punishments on perceived offenders. In the fighting that continued in the northeast—between the Taleban and a coalition of Mujahideen factions known as the Northern Alliance—ethnic cleansing and war atrocities were perpetrated by both sides. The return of many warlords expelled by the Taleban and the emergence of new power brokers spawned by the civil war has fragmented authority across the country. Regional commanders have sizable militias that they can use to compete over territory and resources, and small groups of Taleban and Al Qaeda fighters have remained capable of mounting guerrilla raids at will.

To be continued…